you are not alone - thrive global x salesforce (2021)
While Black Americans experience a wide range of attitudes toward mental health treatment, a stigma surrounding mental health prevents some people from opening up about it or seeking help. Salesforce and Thrive Global, with support from KPMG, partnered to make a change: to bring about positive mental health conversations in the Black community, to share strategies for seeking help, and to prioritize mental well-being.
role: Let me start by saying just how much this project meant to me. It was an idea that came to me after losing a friend to suicide and I wanted to play some small role in equipping my community with the resources we need to rethink our relationship with mental health while spotlighting mental health advocates doing this work on a daily basis.
As the Lead Strategist, I came up with the campaign concept, creative deliverables, and proposal, pitched it directly to senior leaders internally at Thrive and Salesforce, and brought on an award-winning Black-owned production partner, Creative Theory Agency, to help execute the vision. I worked closely with our production partner to research talent, write video story beats and scripts and interviewed subjects to write articles for the campaign.
the sensitivity surrounding the Black experience is impacting our mental health
Black Americans are
20%
more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population yet only 25% of Black Americans seek mental health care
Police killings of Black Americans account for an estimated
55+MM
additional days of poor mental health for Black Americans per year
Of Black professionals
38%
feel that it is never acceptable at their companies to speak out about their experiences of discrimination, racism, or bias — a silence that makes them more than twice as vulnerable to feelings of isolation and alienation in the workplace
transparent.
In this photo-driven editorial series, we profiled Black mental health advocates who are breaking down barriers, increasing transparency, and changing the way mental health is perceived in the Black community.
Dwayne Cole Jr. photographed by James Johnson
Josefina Sanders photographed by Patrick Lamar Richardson
Yolo Akili Robinson photographed by Nailah Howze
James Edward Murray photographed by Nancy Hernandez
Lestraundra Alfred photographed by Nailah Howze
Uzoma F. Chibundu photographed by Nancy Hernandez
black mental health in america: redefining resilience
It’s time to expand our limited view on what it means to be strong. In the campaign here video, Nicole Cammack, Ph.D., President, and CEO of Black Mental Wellness discusses why it's crucial to create space for the experiences of Black Americans in mental health care and how we can start redefining resilience.
social sentiment.
a closer look.
For this editorial series, I had the opportunity to interview and share the story of leaders who are driving innovation in their approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and well-being in the workplace.
Stat Sources: Office of Minority Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Institutes of Health and Harvard Business Review